Dear Ani
by Elephanza
Summary: Obi-Wan writes a letter to Anakin from his exile on Tatooine, with one last lesson to teach his former apprentice. Set one year after the events of ROTS. Oneshot. Please read and review!
**A/N: With all TFA speculation and new stories coming out, I will not even attempt to predict the events of Episode VIII. In the meantime, I wanted to write this short ficlet about my favorite SW character, Obi-Wan! This is a letter from Obi-Wan Kenobi to Anakin Skywalker, set a year after the end of Revenge of the Sith. The idea is that Obi-Wan wrote this letter, but never sent it.**

Dear Ani,

I haven't called you that name in years. Actually, I never called you that name. It never rolled off my tongue quite right. But I'm calling you the name now. You can't say it makes you sound like a little boy. Everyone who knows what you have done would never deem you innocent. There's not a definite moment when you stopped being a boy and became a man. I had hoped to say fatherhood made a man out of you but I'm afraid I can't.

You didn't think about your child – do you know that there are two? – when you turned away from the light. We all have flaws and as you know even Jedi can be tricked. But now I wish that I could erase your decision from the security system, as if I never saw it because it didn't happen. I also saw your conversation with Palpatine at the Galactic Opera. That deceiver caused you to act both selfishly and altruistically. What made you think that you could save Padmé by killing your friends? You fought a war with many of the Jedi you murdered. They were on your side and did not have an ounce of corruption in their bodies. You acted impulsively. But I'm not telling you this to admonish you. We are past the days of being master and apprentice, but I want to teach you one last lesson. A lesson about hope.

Hope died for me on that day. Before you slaughtered him, one youngling stood his ground and tried to hold you off, so that his friends could escape. When I viewed this on the security hologram, my heart became paralyzed. Oh, how he reminded me so much of you. How you were willing to take on any opponent, regardless of skill level or experience. The youngling didn't have a chance against you, someone he thought he could trust, someone who outranked him in ability. That didn't stop him.

There is another who reminds me of you. I imagine an idyllic situation to block out the pain. Right now you might be home watching your son take his first steps, as I am now. I have to spy because your stepbrother is not the fondest of my presence. You would be watching him with Padmé, who would still be Your son, Luke, looks more like you than his mother. Maybe you would brag about that. You would use the force to stabilize his tiny bottom. But I would hold you back because children must learn some things for themselves. And your beautiful daughter, Leia, would also be learning alongside her brother. Maybe she would have learned to walk already. You might train him in the ways of the force, or let him learn it for himself. Although you wouldn't be a Jedi any longer, you would be at peace. I wanted to help you work to get the Jedi to allow marriage. You would have given me reason to do so.

Alas, we cannot look back. It didn't have to end this way, but there are no ifs. Something good can always be found in the darkest room, so long as one searches long enough. I have had more than enough solitude to search for that light, so here it is.

Hope was also born on that day. The truth is, it never died when you bowed to the emperor, killed those younglings, or battled with me. It was just buried under layers and layers of regret. As your master, I blamed myself. Until I saw the faces of Luke and Leia. They are why Yoda and I continue to live. Children are humanity's attempt to live on forever, to leave behind a legacy. Out of the love you and Padmé shared came the hope for the galaxy. If you couldn't kill my hope, nothing ever will.

Once, I was like you. I didn't believe in redemption. I didn't believe in forgiving heinous crimes and ruthless criminals. But now I'm not so sure.

One day perhaps we will meet again. I can only hope you will meet your son and daughter.

In the Force,

Obi-Wan Kenobi

 **What did you think? Please leave a review; I would so appreciate it. Also, if you want to see another Star Wars story from me, please let me know. I love requests** **J**


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